Archive of ‘Dietary Restrictions’ category

Baked oatmeal reminds me of college. Those mornings when I had a few minutes to hit up the hippie dippy vegan-friendly eatery on campus for their beloved brunch, I would make beeline for one of their giant portions of aromatic cinnamon-sprinkled carby goodness.

Being home in Florida I no longer have access to those bowls of manna, so I recreated their baked oatmeal with a protein-packed twist. It’s lower in carbs with a creamier, richer mouth feel and an added touch of vanilla to kick up the flavor and make you feel like you’re eating dessert for breakfast. Isn’t that why people eat breakfast in the first place?!

With eggs, sliced almonds, and blended up cottage cheese (shh! you’ll never know it’s in there) this meal will stick with you longer than the couple of hours that oats and sugar would take to digest and leave you ravenous before noon. My favorite way to eat this oatmeal is cold, in bar form, driving to class or munching the first few minutes of lecture.

The days of overspending on a sugary, fattening frozen coffee drink are over.

I’m currently sipping a homemade, sugar-free mocha “Coffee-cino”that cost way less than $3.50 to make. It has all taste with half the calories and carbs of the real deal. Diabetic coffee lovers, carb watchers, and college students – this one’s for you guys. Come take a coffee break with me and make your own!

UPDATE: The giveaway is closed, and the winner has been contacted. Thanks for playing, everyone!

At the request of a reader, I wanted to share with you my sugar-free, gluten-free Healthier Sugar Cookies. That sounds like an oxymoron, right? Stay with me here. These cookies smell and taste just as good as the cut out cookies I’ve made every year since I was little using grandma’s recipe. The aroma of sweet cookie dough (i.e. buttery vanilla-y goodness!) filled the kitchen as I gingerly rolled out the dough.

I used my grandmother’s antique cookie cutters to cut the familiar shapes that remind me of so many past Christmases. The dough I worked with was sugar-free, but the steps for making the cookies, and the accompanying feelings of nostalgia were the same.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Healthy Indulgences readers! School’s out and baking season is here. After a semester of new beginnings during which I moved back home to Florida and started my post-baccalaureate coursework, it’s time to get back in the kitchen and go on a baking spree. I’m trading in my calculator for my camera and ditching the library for the kitchen these next few weeks, bringing you holiday sweets and a couple of GIVEAWAYS!

Update: The lemon curd post and Gary Taubes summaries are on hold until the new year. We have many seasonal goodies to make over! Stay tuned…

They’re all the rage, and perfect for an easy, kid-friendly holiday dessert. My version of these cakey cookie sandwiches with a sweet buttercream filling tastes every bit as good as the traditional dessert chock full of flour, sugar, and shortening! Made with ground almonds, a little oat flour, pure unsweetened cocoa powder, and natural sweeteners, you can feel good about indulging in these treats after your holiday feast. Actually, they’re wonderful any time of the year. In fact, you should make these right now. You need fuel to get through all that gift-wrapping and baking, right?!

This healthy chocolate dessert is rich, decadent, and ridiculously simple to prepare. You might just find yourself eating chocolate mousse for the next few weeks. Don’t say I didn’t warn you…

Did I mention this mousse is sugar-free, low carb, and so easy a caveman [with a blender] could do it?
Many thanks to the Pioneer Woman for developing the method for this fabulous recipe. She even has photos showing how to make this dessert, although there are no chocolate chips in my version since it’s sugar-free. She calls it Pots De Creme. I call it Chocolate Mousse. Whatever you call it, it’s a surefire hit with company, or any time you want to indulge.

I have a new favorite healthy side dish. Not surprisingly, it involves bacon.Sweet chili greens beans, topped with sesame seeds, caramelized onion, and bacon crumbles. Mm-mm good!

Peggy over at My Fiance Likes It So It Must Be Good (isn’t that a fun blog name?) came up with this gluten-free decadent veggie side dish featuring bacon and onion with an Asian flavor twist. Crisp-tender cooked green beans get their mild heat and sweet flavor from a couple of fresh poblano peppers, minced ginger, and a dash of Thai chili sauce. It’s an addictive fusion of flavors that will have you coming back for more!

I created this sugar-free baking tips sheet with reminders of how you use sugar-free natural sweeteners and a couple of widely available low carb artificial sweeteners. Feel free to post this chart on your own website, or link back to the chart as a reference. The more people who have access to information explaining how to use these healthy sweeteners, the better! I’ll update the body of this post (not the comments) with answers as more questions come in. You are welcome to provide your own feedback and answers to questions in the comments. I’d love to hear about your experiences with sugar-free baking, and any information you might have to add! Hopefully we can all collaborate to make this a helpful post for both fledgling and veteran sugar-free bakers.

A reader request led to the experiments that produced these paleo bread rolls, made without grains, tree nuts, or dairy.

It’s bread, made without grains! I jumped for joy a bit when these turned out so well.

The sweet aroma of yeast-y dough filled up my kitchen while I was shaping and baking these promising mounds into the perfectly browned, crusty n’ soft rolls you see below.

To my readers, who’ve wrapped their burgers in lettuce, their sammies in gluten-free wraps, and have grown accustomed to using a knife and fork for formerly handheld entrees – this one is for you guys. You who have dutifully forgone high carb, refined foods to avoid allergens, take charge of your health, and eat like Grok (Mark Sisson’s paleolithic alter ego) can eat bread again without fear. Go ahead… take a bite!

This healthy version of everyone’s favorite peanut buttery candy is quick and easy to make. Check ’em out!

Yes, we can eat peanut butter cups following a healthy, whole foods eating plan. These delicious candies melt in your mouth, and give you a dose of antioxidant rich chocolate and immune system boosting coconut oil. This recipe is pretty nifty since you can shape and flavor your chocolates any way you’d like! The possibilities are endless…

This is going to be the first in a series of quick and easy desserts that can be made with primal (or paleolithic diet-friendly) ingredients. I’ll include a low carb (sometimes sugar-free) version for each of these recipes as well, of course.

These are not your typical granola bars. What’s so special about ’em? Look closely…

You don’t see any oats, do you? Or sugar. I know you can’t see there’s no sugar, but I promise you it’s not there (okay, so there’s 1 tiny teaspoon of honey in the whole recipe!). Low carbers and gluten-free eaters, take heart. These snack bars are sure to satisfy your craving for this formerly forbidden treat.

I have tried many of your recipes and have never been disappointed. Of course, I love some more than others, but wow, I think it’s wonderful to have a place to go to find just the right thing for the …

Lona BrownEastlake, Ohio, USA

Thank you for all the great recipes! I have been a juvenile diabetic for 38 years now, and have used so many of the sugar alcohol sweeteners. But I only recently found out that erythritol is the only …

Linda TurnerCocoa Beach, FL, USA

I want to thank you for all the wonderful recipes you have posted on your blog. I love trying them and sharing them with my family. Your blog is amazing and an inspiration for us low-carb clean/health…

Dannielle McguireManalapan, New Jersey, USA

My husband was diagnosed as diabetic and celiac last spring. Your recipes have helped make the diet adjustment easier for him to live with by making it possible for him to have some of the sweets he l…

Deb DunaganDurango, Colorado, USA

Thanks so much for all your work and experimenting. I have cut out starches and sugars over the last 5 months, and have gotten my 18 year old daughter on board as well, as we are both trying dietary c…

Sheila KrausFredericksburg, TX

“I’ve been following you for years. I’m a T2 diabetic 63 year old male trying to get up to speed on cooking and baking low carb. Thanks to folks like you I’m getting better at it, and have lost about …

Frank Weir, Saline, Michigan

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